School desk



Allg- 8, 1939- l R. K. MERRILL 2,168,910

SCHOOL DESK Filed March 13, 1936 2 `Sheets-Sheet l INVEN TOR.

Wo Rdv/1 /f Marr/Y! A TTORNEYS.

w llg- 3, 1939. R. K. MERRILL 2,168,910

lSCHOOL DESK Filed March 13, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTRWEKS'.

Patented Aug. 8, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE to American Seating Company, Grand Rapids,

Mich., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 13, 1936, Serial No. 68,582

2 Claims.

The instant invention relates to school desks and more particularly to combination desks and seats,

The primary objects of the present invention are to provide a combination desk and seat which is especially well adapted for use in orthopedic schools; to provide such a combination desk and seat whose desk portion may be manually adjustably slid forwardly and rearwardly; to provide such a combination desk and seat whose seat portion is rotatably mounted to permit complete rotation thereof after the desk portion has been slid forwardly; and, to provide such a combination desk and seat which is highly utilitarian for its intended use, is rigid and sturdy in construction and is reasonably economical in manufacture.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a top plan View of the combination desk and seat, the desk portion thereof being shown slid forwardly in full lines and slid rearwardly in dotted lines;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view thereof, the desk portion being shown in its forwardly slid position in full lines and in its rearwardly slid position in dotted lines permitting rotation of the seat portion from its position shown in full lines to its position shown in dotted lines;

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the desk portion on line 3 3 of Figure 4;

Figure 4 is a sectional view on line 4 4 of Figure 5;

Figure 5 is a sectional view on line 5 5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is .a sectional view on line 6 6 of Figure 5; and

Figure l is a fragmentary perspective View of the supporting structure for the combination desk and seat.

Referring to the drawings in which like parts of the structure shown are designated by the same numerals in the several views, a U-shaped supporting member I, here shown as tubular in construction, is maintained in upright position by means of a pair of front legs II and a pair of rear legs I2 which rigidly embrace the opposite parallel portions I3, I4 respectively of the member Iii as best shown in Figure 2.

A seat I5 provided with oppositely disposed arms I5, I1 preferably integrally formed from tubular or other metal stock and between whose upper portions are secured a back member I8, has a depending bearing member I9 secured to its under side in any suitable manner and a post 20 here shown as tubular is rotatably journalled in this bearing member at its upper end, all as diagrammatically illustrated in Figure 2. The lower end of the post 20 is telescopically tted into the upper end I4 of the U-shaped member I!) and a clamping element 2| provides for vertical adjustment of the seat relative to the floor.

A desk, generally designated 22 and of the conventional school type with its upwardly swingable top 23, is provided with a pair of spaced parallel tracks 24, 25, here shown as bolt headed rods, which depend from the under side of the desk and which are secured in position by passing them rst through an aperture in the depending apron 25 of the forward side of the desk and thence through an aperture in the depending apron 2'? of the rearward side of the desk, as best shown in Figure 5.

The end of each rod 25, 25 opposite the bolt headed end thereof is provided with an annular groove 2B closely adjacent such end and a U- shaped washer 25 is slipped into the groove 28 for detachably holding each rod in its assembled position and in the manner best shown in Figure 6. Blocks 35, provided with semi-circular grooves and forming bearings adjacent opposite ends of each rod 24, 25 are each secured to a plate 3l as by screws 32 which plates are in turn secured to the desk bottom 33 as by screws 34.

A spider 35 secured to a depending post 35 telescopically fitting within the tubular portion I3 of the U-shaped member Iii and maintained in adjusted vertical position by the clamp 3l, is provided with a pair of oppositely and laterally disposed vertically projecting forward arms 38 and rearward arms 39 which are bored and each pair of oppositely disposed arms provide bearings which slidably embrace the parallel rods 'A4, 25.

It will thus be seen that the desk may be manually shifted from its position shown in full lines in Figures 1 and 2 to the position shown in dotted lines in the same views permitting rotation of the seat from its position shown in full lines in Figure 2 to the position shown in dotted lines in the same View. This feature together with the fact' that arms for the seat are provided which enable the crippled child to assist himself to arise after the seat has been rotated make the structure herein shown and described particularly well adapted for use in orthopedic schools as well as in schools attended by normal children.

While but one specific embodiment of this invention has been herein shown and described, 1t will be understood that numerous details of the construction shown may be altered or omitted CAD without departing from the spirit of this invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A structure of the class described, comprising: a supporting frame having upwardly extending ends; a seat rotatably mounted on one of said ends; a spider on the other one of said ends having laterally extending arms with parallelly spaced closed slide bearings extending toward the seat; a desk top having gaps through its bottom and downwardly extending front and rear portions; a pair of parallelly spaced rods secured at their ends to said portions and slidable in said bearings respectively; plates covering the gaps having blocks extending downwardly thereinto and engaging the rods in supported and guided slidable relation therewith adjacent the opposite ends of said bearings respectively, said plates being secured to the bottom of the desk top for supporting the same on the rods.

2. A structure of the class described, comprising: a supporting frame having upwardly extending ends; a seat rotatably mounted on one of said ends; a spider on the other one of said ends having laterally extending arms with parallelly spaced slide bearings extending toward the seat; a desk top having gaps through its bottom; a pair of parallelly spaced rods secured at their ends to the desk top and slidable in said bearings respectively; plates covering the gaps having blocks extending downwardly thereinto and engaging the rods in supported slidable relation therewith adjacent the opposite ends of said bearings respectively, said plates being secured to the bottom of the desk top for supporting the same on the rods.

RALPH K. MERRILL, 

